Cat Cora

Born in Jackson, Mississippi in 1967, Cat Cora grew up around restaurants. Both her father and her grandfather were restaurateurs. After graduating from the University of Southern Mississippi, Cora studied at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York. She apprenticed with and then worked for Chef Anne Rozenweig at Arcadia and Chef Larry Forgione in New York, then apprenticed with two of France's three-star Michelin chefs, George Blanc and Roger Verge. She returned to New York to work as a Sous Chef at The Old Chatham Shepherding Company, and then moved to Napa Valley, to be Chef de Cuisine at Bistro Don Giovanni.

She made her TV debut in 2001 on "My Country My Kitchen: Greece" (Food Network, 2001-02) with Rocco DiSpirito and went on to host a number of cooking shows including "Melting Pot" (Food Network, 2001-02) and "Date Plate" (Food Network, 2003-04)). In 2004, she published her first cookbook, "Cat Cora's Kitchen," and in 2005 earned massive exposure when she became the first and only woman to become an Iron Chef on "Iron Chef America" (Food Network, 2005-). In 2006, Cora was named Teacher of the Year by Bon Appetit magazine. She also became Executive Chef of the magazine. Cora opened a number of Cat Cora's Kitchens, serving high-end alternatives at airports across the United States, and returned to hosting in 2012 when she partnered with Curtis Stone to co-host "Around the World in 80 Plates" (Bravo, 2012).